Ramblings of the Crazy Cat Lady & Dog Diva

From 1988 to 1997, I lived in Rhode Island in the upstairs 2nd floor of my grandparents’ 2 family home. Rhode Island, like most places, has local cuisine not found in other places. One of the treats I came to like, and now miss, was frozen lemonade. Whether you fancied Del’s or New England Lemonade, you lined up during lunch or your break for the sweet, frozen delight each summer. Personally, unlike a lot of Rhode Islanders, I preferred New England Lemonade. It had a better taste to me, but then, what do I know, I’m from Texas! The other … Continue reading Spinach Pie

Who doesn’t love meatballs? I’ve been making meatballs for so long I can’t remember how old I was when I first started making them. I know I was a child. I’m descended from an Italian immigrant, my grandpa; so, meatballs are in my blood. In addition to macaroni and meatballs, sometimes I like meatballs in other ways. Meatball stew is always a great way to have meatballs in a filling, stick-to-your-ribs, good, home-cooked meal. I’ve made variations of this recipe for years, but I’ve never actually written it down. I decided to write it down to share with all my … Continue reading Easy Meatball Stew

Let me start by saying I grew up with Ranger Rick and reruns of the Beverly Hillbillies. I always pictured myself as Elly May. I still don’t have a cement pond, but I have recently attracted a mother coon and her two youngins. Ok, the mother doesn’t think much about me. Ok, she rather fears me. I suppose that’s a good thing considering her size. She flees every time I approach. Her kids, however, grew up watching me b ring cat food out to the feral cats. Even though mama coon fears me, she’s got no problem teaching her … Continue reading Ranger Rick and Elly May

About a week or so ago, I told y’all about Shasta dressing up as Saint Francis. I dubbed her Brother Wolf after the short story I also recently published. This past weekend the small city of Whitesboro, Texas celebrated its annual Peanut Festival. My church, St Francis of Assisi Catholic Church has a booth there every year. They hold raffles to raise money for different church projects. This year they were raising money towards building a new parish hall. I don’t always attend the peanut festival, but I have gone a few times now. The first time was to attend … Continue reading Of Peanuts, Wolves and Kettle Korn

You have chicken out for supper, but do not know what to do with it. Allow me to offer a suggestion. Being from an Italian family, my mom grew up with large family meals. Meals which could feed the army of people they were sure were bound to show up. The theory: if there was no food left, there was not enough food. People were hungry. My mom kept this approach to making meals even after marrying and leaving home. Growing up, our family of five always had a big meal. Casseroles, stews, and such. She’d experiment with adding ingredients … Continue reading Easy Chicken Cacciatore Stew

The wolf… OK, the wolf dog. The patron saint of animals. The photo shoot. What could possibly go wrong? Feral cats. Rain. Yep, that’s it! Everything started out rather nicely. Overcast day. Great for a photo shoot. Shasta, with her harness on, and I walked out to the middle of the property into a clearing surrounded by trees. I had her regular 6 foot leash and the 15 or 30 foot leash. I can never remember how long it is. It’s very long. Great for training “stay.” I had the box with her costume in hand. Camera around my neck. … Continue reading Brother Wolf – St Francis Halloween 2017

If you followed my blog on the selling site Addoway back in 2011, you were introduced to my very short story, Brother Wolf. If not, well, let me introduce you to the longer short story! I recently rewrote the story making it longer for a short story book format. I added a few illustrations, as well. The illustrations are a mix of my photographs which I converted to black & white and line art drawings, as well as a couple of actual digital drawings. I am quite proud of the digital drawings because I do not consider myself a drawing … Continue reading New Book Release: Brother Wolf

Ever Dream of Being a Published Writer? Is writing a book something you’ve always wanted to do, but because of funds, or the lack thereof, you just sit by the window staring out at the world wondering and wishing what it would be like to be able to write a book and have it published? You’ve started it a hundred times – in your head, on paper or maybe on your computer. You can see the story unfold before your eyes, and you want desperately to share it with the world. Maybe you’ve written long posts on social media … Continue reading Self Publishing Your Book… What I’ve Learned

Soup weather? Sort of. The calendar says it’s fall… or autumn, if you wish. In north Texas, it’s the crazy season of “what season will we have today? Summer? Fall? Spring?” It’s also known as rainy season part 2. It’s the season where the trees don’t know whether to bud out or drop a leaf. Sometimes they’re doing both at the same time. Regardless, we have some real chilly fall days thrown in to remind us north Texas can actually get quite chilly if not darn right cold! What better for those chilly days than to warm the house with … Continue reading Grandma’s Pasta e Fagioli Recipe

One of the first questions people have when they get a new puppy is “is my puppy old enough for obedience training?” The answer is a resounding “yes!” Most people don’t realize when they get a puppy they begin learning as soon as they are brought into the home. Almost immediately you’ve given your new puppy a name, and you use it. Your puppy’s name is her first training lesson. If your puppy is old enough to leave his mother, approximately 10 to 12 weeks old, he’s old enough to start learning. Start slow. Give the puppy time. Attention span … Continue reading Is My Puppy Old Enough for Obedience Training